Shooting Star by Fredrick McKissack Jr.

Shooting Star by Fredrick McKissack Jr. is a story about football and steroids. The pressure put on high school athletes by society and themselves can push them to try alternative methods. Jomo Rogers works out, alot. He was on track for a college scholarship, but he felt he needed an edge. He did not make the decision lightly and the reader is in on his thinking process. That’s not to say the reader agrees with his decision, but we’re not Jomo. As Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) says, you never know a person until you walk around in their skin. The fact that Jomo is African American is really irrelevant except for the societal pressure of sports and achievement. The story, as could be predicted, takes a bad turn and there are severe consequences to Jomo’s choice. There is plenty of football and high school drama. The story is not preachy and there is sympathy for Jomo. A solid sports story with good information on the consequences of using steroids.